DCI Jack Parker is BACK…
Death is stalking the streets of Newcastle. An anonymous killer is offering the terminally ill a dignified escape. Mercy to some. Murder to others.
KILLER
DCI Jack Parker doesn’t want the case. He has a secret of his own – an early-onset dementia diagnosis he’s desperate to conceal. But the signs are becoming impossible to ignore. As his mind begins to betray him, the city faces its own moral reckoning.
OR
While politicians debate a contentious new law and the self-styled Angel of Death selects another victim, Jack’s world is shaken when the killings are traced to a carers’ support group – one his wife, Helen, has been attending in secret.
SAINT
Yet his deepest fear is also his darkest temptation. Because when his disease becomes unbearable, Jack can’t escape one haunting question:
Could the Angel of Death be the saviour he’s been waiting for?
It is such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for The Angel of Death by Trevor Wood today. Many thanks to Orenda Books for my advance copy and to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour.
The Angel of Death is the third book in Trevor Wood's DCI Jack Parker series but the first I've read and while there are inevitably some spoilers regarding the previous novels, it can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. I quickly became fully immersed in this complex, nuanced mystery and invested in its intriguingly flawed characters, particularly Jack Parker himself.
Police procedurals are sometimes criticised for their troubled protagonists but while Jack is a seasoned detective with a clear disregard for authority, he is anything but a stereotype. Trevor Wood's empathetic depiction of a man dealing with a diagnosis of early-onset dementia is poignant without becoming sentimental and as he grapples with his worsening symptoms, the implications of this particular case ensure the eventual outcome is never obvious here. The wider significance of his dementia also impacts upon his family life, with both his wife and son having to contend with their fears for an uncertain future.
Meanwhile, newly promoted DI Leon Johnson has to wrestle with his conscience and his feelings towards DS Emma Steel. The relationship between the pair is best described as complicated, especially after they learn a previous case may not have been as settled as Emma in particular would have liked. Some of her decisions are decidedly questionable but her spiky temperament, career woes and tangled relationships mean she is such a beautifully drawn, authentic character. Leon obviously still feels like an outsider at times but it's his own jealousy rather than racism that threatens to undo him and although his actions are understandable, the scenes where he has to decide where his moral lie adds another layer of interest to this intricately woven book.
The multifaceted narrative cleverly draws their various subplots together as they attempt to track down an anonymous mercy killer nicknamed the 'Angel of Death' by the press. The proposed assisted dying bill remains a controversial issue and Trevor Wood explores various arguments both for and against it here. The Angel's actions are against the law but the detectives can’t help but question whether the dead are actually victims of a crime, if they requested and indeed welcomed his services. Their stories reflect the harrowing questions raised by this topic. Should the dying or those with life-limited conditions be able to decide enough is enough? What if it's because they've been coerced into feeling like a burden? Where are the checks and balances to ensure it really is their choice? It's a challenging dilemma and quite rightly, there are no easy solutions presented here. The identity of the Angel isn't revealed until late in the book but there are scenes that follow his perspective and although it seems that his motivations are altruistic, Trevor Wood still manages to inject this compulsive thriller with a creeping sense of dread – and never has the description ’heartstopping‘ felt more apt for an ending...!
The Angel of Death is a chilling, gritty read but the warm realism of dialogue means it is often as witty as it is touching or hard-hitting. Clearly extensively researched, this meticulously plotted, gripping thriller is one of the most thought-provoking books I've had the pleasure of reading. An outstanding read, I loved it!
The Angel of Death is published by Orenda Books and can be ordered directly from their website. Further purchasing links can be found here.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
His latest series, which has been optioned for TV by Filmnation TV UK, began with The Silent Killer, featuring DCI Jack Parker, who’s confronting the one killer he can’t stop: early onset dementia, it was followed by The Inside Man and now, the third book in the series, The Angel of Death.
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